i was on my lunch break looking through the forums and saw your posts and thought that its time you started doing some processing on your photos !!!

By way of example i have some photo processing capability on my work pc here but i figured i would show you what is possible with 20 seconds worth of button tapping using a very basic photo processing piece of software - Microsoft Office 2010.

I wanted to demonstrate that 20 seconds can change a photo using even the most basic of tools!

I am assuming that the photo has been shrunk down in size as the image was only a few kb in size. Also you can see it has a hazy look and isnt as defined or tac sharp that you would possibly like.

So, i opened the photo with Microsoft Office 2010, hit the edit button and cropped the photo down to a frame which i think suited the birds aspect / position and cut out some of the background.

Then i played with the auto-tune functions.. hit the button, then pull some of the sliders around until i get a finish i am happy with. All this took me was 20 seconds..i was aiming for 30 ! but finished quicker.

simple, quick and easy to use..no secrets no gizmos no worrying about editing terms etc...

this is a starting point and will take your photos on to the next level.

You have the eye for a good photo and plenty of subject material.

Yes the camera may seem a limitation but remember you are shooting at zoom, so the quality on the camera isnt going to be great and it may come up a little fuzzy, at zoom the compacts may struggle to decipher exactly what you are trying to focus on, as per your big turkey shot, i think the camera focussed more on the trees behind than the bird.

Obviously the better the quality of the shot the better the ned product after procesing but i hope this shows that even with 20 seconds worth of eay processing your photos can take a huge leap forward.

Im up for sharing settings... will be home again in errrr.... 3 days I think and Ill post em then I know for me they are always close to the same unless something really unusual happens in regards to light or lack there of or atmospheric conditions like fog and the like.

Here's a couple from yesterday.Barred Owl.....Watched it fly into some heavy/thick/huge spruce and went in after it.When i first found it I was about 8ft from it,it flew into a bit more open area and a bit higher up.The next time it flew it was finally out in the sun but I couldn't get very near it.

Tired him out...

My cam has been sitting idle for a while and the batteries must have been low to begin with.After approx 45 mins with the owl and the cam on the entire time out in the cold,my batteries were nearly done when I came acrossthese Turkey Vultures sunning atop a huge barn.

came across a couple of yellow tailed black cockatoos, love these birds and have been trying to get shots of these for ages. They flew away as soon as I approached. I was using a tree for cover and got these shots, as I got closer they flew off. Looks like their beaks are covered in resin from breaking open nuts and bark etc. With that tongue and beak they make a powerful tool.